1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiving device for receiving rod members one by one and changing the transportation direction of the rod member to be received into another transportation path, and particularly relates to a receiving device suitable for reception of double cigarettes from a cigarette manufacturing machine as a catcher device thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A filter cigarette manufacturing machine, a so-called filter attachment has a catcher drum. The catcher drum can receive double cigarettes one by one from a cigarette manufacturing machine. More particularly, the cigarette manufacturing device has a conveying path extending toward the filter attachment. The conveying path guides the individual double cigarette delivered from a cutting section of the cigarette manufacturing machine in the axial direction of the double cigarette.
The catcher drum has many receiving grooves on an outer peripheral surface thereof. These receiving grooves are arranged at equal intervals in a circumferential direction of the catcher drum. Each of the receiving grooves is sequentially aligned with the conveying path of the cigarette manufacturing machine as the catcher drum rotates, each of the receiving grooves can receive one double cigarette from the conveying path through an opening at one end of the receiving groove. Thereafter, the double cigarette in the receiving groove is transported in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the double cigarette as the catcher drum rotates. Namely, the double cigarette is transferred from the conveying path of the cigarette manufacturing machine onto the catcher drum so that the conveying posture of the double cigarette is switched.
The double cigarette transferred onto the catch drum advances in the receiving groove. During the advance, the double cigarette receives braking force by suction in the receiving groove and is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the double cigarette is moved by positioning means and is positioned in a regular position in the receiving groove. For example, the positioning means may includes a stopper arranged on the other end side of the receiving groove or the regular position and pulling means for pulling the double cigarette in the temporary stopping state by suction until the double cigarette comes in contact with the stopper.
The braking force and pulling force for the double cigarette are respectively provided by suction, respectively, when the double cigarette is temporarily stopped in the receiving groove and the double cigarette is moved from the temporary stopping position to the stopper. It is difficult to constantly maintain the braking force and the pulling force at any time.
Therefore, the temporary stopping position of the double cigarette is also changed in the receiving groove by a change in the braking force. For example, when the temporary stopping position of the double cigarette is separated far from the stopper, no pulling force of the pulling means can be moved until the double cigarette comes in contact with the stopper. Accordingly, no double cigarette can be accurately positioned in the receiving groove.
On the other hand, when the temporary stopping position of the double cigarette is normal and the pulling force provided by the pulling means is excessively strong, the double cigarette strongly runs into the stopper so that a cut end of the double cigarette is damaged and shredded tobacco drops from the cut end thereof.
The above-mentioned problems are also caused by a change in size of the double cigarette as well as changes in the braking force and the pulling force. Namely, when the double cigarette is changed in weight, the braking force and the pulling force for the double cigarette must be adjusted in accordance with the weight of the double cigarette. However, much labor and time are required to make this adjustment.